Wikipedia:Wikipedia in webcomics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a page listing webcomics which feature Wikipedia. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all the ones that merely use the word "Wikipedia". Instead, these are a compilation of those strips whose topic centrally relates to the encyclopedia and its perception in popular culture.

Common themes in the comics reflect Criticism of Wikipedia—especially jabs at its vulnerability to vandalism and accuracy as a source. Frequently people who edit or read Wikipedia are mocked as the butt of the joke, with the insinuation that Wikipedia enthusiasts lack social skills and are "nerds", thus using the site is something one should be embarrassed about. The existence of this list creates an additional recursive topic for those authors that discuss Wikipedia for the mere purpose of seeing if their comic can be mentioned here.

A topic which has particularly heated coverage from webcomic authors is that Wikipedia will not allow entries describing many webcomics in the encyclopedia. This determination is made using guidelines for notability, which is a subjective process that—although democratic at some level—is ultimately in the hands of Wikipedia administrators. Another wiki has been established which welcomes coverage of all webcomics regardless of fame (see Comixpedia).

Series that always involve Wikipedia[edit]

  • Each instance of WikiWorld webcomic gives an illustrated summary of little-known articles in Wikipedia.

2005[edit]

2006[edit]

2007[edit]

2008[edit]

2009[edit]

  • 2009-01-13 : Charliehorse: Reaganomics[4] – "Are you going to spend every computer lab vandalizing Wikipedia?" "Wikipedia is a scourge that needs to die!"
  • 2009-01-16 : Two Lumps[5] – Snooch justifies a logically unsound statement with "You have no cited source for proof! So I'm right!" Eben notes: "...I should never have shown you Wikipedia."
  • 2009-02-18 : xkcdNeutrality Schmeutrality – "Trivia: It's possible to create events which Wikipedia cannot cover neutrally."
  • 2009-02-19 : Sandra and WooReliable Sources – Woo hates it when his opponent cites noted experts to back up his claims. (including a References section beneath the comic)
  • 2009-03-24 : Laugh-Out-Loud Cats# 1090 – "ur not supposd to add originl resrch"
  • 2009-04-21 : Charliehorse: Reaganomics [6]American Civil War is vandalized to include steam-powered walking armor.
  • 2009-06-20 : Unshelved[7] – Colleen objects to using Wikipedia to answer a patron's question.
  • 2009-06-22 : Stripy Sixcomic #61 – Fuzzball (one of the main characters) discovers the recent changes button on the sidebar.
  • 2009-08-16 : Plan Bfly1_01 – Wikipedia is listed almost next to last of the wonderful things on the Internet.
  • 2009-09-25 : Piled Higher and Deeper [8]- an argument of the rules of softball in a professors vs graduates game results in an attempt to consult Wikipedia to settle the matter although this attempt is at least temporary thwarted by difficultly in finding a signal to allow wireless web access.
  • 2009-12-14 : Doghouse DiariesMore Funding Needed! — Puzzle logo discusses funding, in space.

2010[edit]

2011[edit]

  • 2011-01-04 : xkcd – "Misconceptions" – The author wishes he lived in a universe that requires, by law, that students to study the Wikipedia list of common misconceptions the first Tuesday of February.
  • 2011-04-01 : Doghouse Diaries – "Who is, smartest?" – A comparison of the smartness of Ken Jennings, Watson and "any fool with a smartphone and Wikipedia".
  • 2011-05-24 : xkcdExtended Mind The author's apparent IQ drops 30 points every time there is a Wikipedia server outage. Also, how to follow links in articles that will eventually end up at Philosophy.
  • 2011-05-31 : xkcdAdvertising Discovery Wikipedia has trained us to believe anything with a little blue number after it, and advertisers will use it against us.[1]
  • 2011-06-12 : xkcdMagic School Bus Mrs. Frizzle takes the class onto The Magic School Bus to get to a computer to look up batteries on Wikipedia.
  • 2011-11-29 : The Magnificent Whatever - What is this Wikipedia Nonsense Anyway? Some dim fellows find out that porn boxes also contain all of the information in the world.
  • 2011-11-16 : xkcd - Citogenesis Careless writers end up creating citations for dubious facts on Wikipedia.
  • 2011-11-21 : xkcd - Money Chart In a couple of areas it discusses different ways to look at the costs to run Wikipedia.
  • 2011-12-19 : xkcd - Mnemonics Wikipedia is referenced as part of a mnemonic to remember color resistor codes.

2012[edit]

2013[edit]

2014[edit]

  • 2014-02-17: xkcd - Frequency Mentions the rate at which people edit Wikipedia. A period of 0.67 according to explainxkcd

2015[edit]

2016[edit]

2019[edit]

Undated[edit]

Comics that mention the page on Wikipedia about comics that mention Wikipedia[edit]

  • 2006-09-09: Irregular Webcomic![10] – The Author, in a "Real Life" comic, mentions this exact page, and suggests adding a page about "Comics that mention the page on Wikipedia about comics that mention Wikipedia..." Note that his suggestion was a complete joke, and he actually asks readers not to make that specific page, because meta-jokes are not welcome in Wikipedia.
    • A later annotation from 2016-03-12 notes the existence of this section.[2]

Comics that mention comics that mention the page on Wikipedia about comics that mention Wikipedia[edit]

  • 2006-10-26: Ninja Verses - [11] - The character of Regular Ninja makes a point of mentioning comics which mention this exact page.

Comics that merely use Wiki terminology or cite Wikipedia[edit]

Resources[edit]

References & footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Randal Munroe (2011-05-31). "Advertising Discovery". xkcd. xkcd. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  2. ^ Thus making Irregular Webcomic! a comic that mentions the section on the page on Wikipedia about comics that mention Wikipedia, about comics that mention the page on Wikipedia about comics that mention Wikipedia.